Timeless Moon by C. T. Adams, Cathy Clamp Page A

up the vehicle and checked in yesterday was very different than the person Ellen had met at the truck stop. Gone were her shoulder-length curls that she'd worn for a century. Her blond hair had been cut short before they left Albuquerque, so that it bounced and moved with her. Chandelier earrings graced each ear, giving a soft, musical tinkle if she turned her head quickly. She'd indulged herself with just a single drop of her all-time favorite perfume. It was barely enough for the humans to notice, but she knew.
    Her finger and toenails were polished a vivid crimson that exactly matched the tight scooped neck T-shirt she wore over her new black jeans. Strappy sandals with a three-inch wedge heel put a wiggle in her walk, which had drawn admiring glances from more than one man in the grocery store and a sharp elbow in the ribs for one particularly unlucky gent. The only thing that was the least bit out of character was the watch, but she wouldn't have traded it for all the rest combined.
    It was, admittedly, ugly. Bulky and black, made of plastic with Day-Glo numbers it was the kind of sports watch that could tell you more than you wanted to know in several time zones. But it had one feature that made it priceless to Josette. With the push of a button it showed the date, with the year. Any time she wanted she could simply look at her wrist and know when she was. No more asking embarrassing questions, searching for a newspaper, or scanning the area for clues. She could just hit the button and viola.
    And the date was so very critical right now. Visions from two hundred years were all converging on this time and place. Her mind had been worrying at the issue like a terrier with a bone. So many things were about to happen, and some needed to not happen. It was difficult to know what to influence and what to leave alone.
    Part of it was the responsibility. Whether they meant to or not, people blamed her when she saw something awful … and truthfully, most of the time what she saw was awful. But it was more than that. She didn't really trust her foresight completely anymore. There were too many people doing too many important things. Every action affected the whole cloth that was the future in new and unpredictable ways. Sometimes the consequences were good; sometimes bad. But there were always consequences, and it played merry hell with her memory every time Charles and Lucas started mucking about with things. And they both insisted on doing it. They were both so confident that they knew the best course of action. She wished she could be so sure.
    It was as if thinking about the vision brought it on. She felt it coming just before it hit. Translucent images superimposed themselves over the rugged rural scenery outside the window. Then the room disappeared, and she found herself in another place and time.
    The cave was dark and cool, lit only by the flickering fire of the torch in his trembling hand. The scents of verdant jungle greenery were almost overwhelming. He gathered his courage, forced himself to be strong. The punishment he would receive was well deserved. He should have known better than to delegate such an important project. He should have gone after the cat himself. She was too strong for the ones he had sent to take her out. Now two of their people were dead, and she had vanished.
    They would find her. He would find her, and she would die. It was necessary. The Sazi must have no warning of what was about to happen.
    A breeze caused the tangled vines that hid the cave exit to sway. He used the snuffer to extinguish the torch, sliding it into the holder with the others. Squaring his shoulders, he brushed the vines aside with one arm and stepped into the blinding daylight.
    A knocking sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. It beat against her mind, one moment a booted foot on oak planks, then the hollow tones of iron on stone, and finally settling into light knuckles on a cheap painted door. The last was a tone